New Radio-Controlled Vehicles Drive Options for Indoor & Outdoor Play

First posted on the YourToyCom.com blog forum and community website serving the toys, games and childrens’ technology industries, on behalf of the Spielwarenmesse. Spielwarenmesse is the leading and largest International ToyFair in the world, held annually in Nuremberg, Germany in early February.

At the Press Preview at #Spielwarenmesse 2012, a number of manufacturers presented products for different ages and skill levels. Plus, these examples also offer the option for indoor and outdoor play. This doubles the chances that kids will continue to engage with these vehicles through-out all seasons, and that retailers will be encouraged to stock them year-round.

Revell introduced their sleek Revellutions vehicle in two styles, with interchangeable wheels and a low center of gravity chassis. Carrera extended their helicopter range with the smaller and easier-to-manuever SkyHunter and Red Eagle. Both are designed for the less experienced helicopter pilot, and also for indoor flight, which reduces the variability of calculating wind interference.

SilverLit displayed a 2-channel Heli-Cube pocket-sized helicopter, with an internal gyroscope. This model, only available in Europe in 2012, literally folds into a square palm-sized storage unit for portability. The test flight demonstrated easy manueverability and a smooth ride.

Many of the products demonstrated at the Press Preview were nominated for a ToyAward 2012 honor. One of the nominated products that made it to the finalists was the Spin Master Air Hogs Battle Tracker. This product consists of a Saw-Blade helicopter and a radar and defense tower on the ground. There are both single-player and dual-player modes to navigate the plane and to defend it against attack.

A completely new product line being introduced at this show is FlyLine (Creative Play International), a revolutionary and affordable tethered flight system. Designed for indoor and outdoor flight, for pilots as young as eight years old, these durable planes can be flown solo or with multiple planes in competition. Two versions offer the Air Racer for speed and performance or the Air Combat, for battling. All planes can take off and land, perform stunts, loops, fly inverted and more. The manufacturer states that the planes are easy to fly, and challenging to master. I tried my hand at the solo flight and found it to be truly easy to fly, even for a novice pilot like me.

These are just a few of the products that will engage kids with radio control, whether on the ground, or in the air. Please forward your comments on other new active play products to expand the reach of our blogs and to extend the new products coverage, for our readers.